Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Charles White (1918-79), was enthralled by the illustrated books he read as a child at the Chicago Public Library while his mother worked, and he quickly demonstrated his own phenomenal artistic talent. A high-school classmate of Margaret Burroughs, White was awarded scholarships and studied art and history with equal passion, committing himself to craft his monumental drawings are masterpieces of technique and vision and to addressing the realities of African American life. A lifelong activist and teacher as well as an artist of superior skills, empathy, and originality, he portrayed workers, farmers, mothers and children, and such heroes as Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth. Charles White: A Retrospective marks this American master's first comprehensive exhibition in 35 years, a show that began in Chicago and will travel to New York and Los Angeles, each a place where White lived and worked. With a gripping introduction by White's former student Kerry James Marshall, a detailed life chronology, superb plates, and expert essays on various aspects of White's towering work, this magnificent volume belongs in every American art collection.--Donna Seaman Copyright 2018 Booklist
Choice Review
Charles White: A Retrospective is a tour de force catalogue of a tour de force traveling exhibition (2018--19). Organized and illustrated to witness White's extraordinary and prolific figurative oeuvre, the volume comprises in-depth essays, written by celebrated authors close to White's work, that offer a fresh perspective on White's practice of revealing beauty in the ordinary and theater in the everyday life of African Americans. White's enduring use of the figure, stoic and sturdy, is brought into alignment with feminism (in an essay by Kellie Jones), his photographic models (Deborah Willis), political activism (Ilene Susan Fort), and pedagogy (Esther Adler). Additional essays look at the artist's public works and his overarching interest in reaching the broadest audiences possible through prints. Honoring this social realist artist, the exhibition has traveled to three prestigious US museums: the Art Institute of Chicago, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Including a valuable overview of White's life (1918--79), an extensive chronology, and a selected inventory of White's library and exhibition history, this informative catalogue reveals how a participant in the African American struggle for justice and equality pictured the era. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals; general readers. --Margaret Rose Vendryes, York College, City University of New York
Library Journal Review
Curators Oehler (American art, Art Inst. of Chicago; They Seek a City: Chicago and the Art of Migration, 1910-1950) and Adler (drawings & prints, MoMA; Charles White: Black Pope) have assembled a first-rate catalog accompanying a traveling retrospective spanning the prolific career of American artist Charles White (1918-79), the "foremost artist of the Black Arts Movement." Engaging essays recount White's life, his allies, and his influences, from his self-education as a child reading in a public library about black antiquity to peaceful activism manifested in his figurative artwork to educator marking his place in history. Experts interpret the techniques and themes of White's realistic narratives, including his contribution to black feminism by portraying the beauty of everyday women. But the revelations to readers are the potent images that speak for themselves. This catalog is packed with exceptional reproductions of drawings, prints, murals, and photographs shared publicly for the first time. VERDICT Scholars and artists alike will discover White's bold talents in this well-documented exploration of an artist whose powerful messages still speak to us loud and clear.-Marianne Laino Sade, -Washington Coll., Chestertown, MD © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
